1997 Minnesota Statutes

     121.1115 System accountability and statistical 
  adjustments. 

    Subdivision 1.    Educational accountability and public 
 reporting.  Consistent with the state board of education 
 process to adopt a results-oriented graduation rule under 
 section 121.11, subdivision 7c, the state board of education and 
 the department of children, families, and learning, in 
 consultation with education and other system stakeholders, shall 
 establish a coordinated and comprehensive system of educational 
 accountability and public reporting that promotes higher 
 academic achievement. 

    Subd. 1a.    Statewide testing.  Each school year, all 
 school districts shall give a uniform statewide test to students 
 at specified grades to provide information on the status, needs 
 and performance of Minnesota students. 

    Subd. 2.    Statistical adjustments.  In developing 
 policies and assessment processes to hold schools and school 
 districts accountable for high levels of academic standards, 
 including the profile of learning, the commissioner shall 
 aggregate student data over time to report student performance 
 levels measured at the school district, regional, or statewide 
 level.  When collecting and reporting the data, the commissioner 
 shall:  (1) acknowledge the impact of significant demographic 
 factors such as residential instability, the number of single 
 parent families, parents' level of education, and parents' 
 income level on school outcomes; and (2) organize and report the 
 data so that state and local policymakers can understand the 
 educational implications of changes in districts' demographic 
 profiles over time.  Any report the commissioner disseminates 
 containing summary data on student performance must integrate 
 student performance and the demographic factors that strongly 
 correlate with that performance. 

    HIST: 1996 c 412 art 7 s 2; 1997 c 1 s 2